M is for Miscellany

M is for Miscellany

No one ever said it would be easy. Those of us of pensionable age have all received communications from the Department of Work and Pensions asking for confirmation that we are still alive and therefore entitled to receive the UK State Pension (minus fuel allowance, of course). It was not enough to write back saying, “Hey, it’s me. I’m still here,” or words to that effect. No, someone else had to verify that you are indeed alive, sign the form and apply an “official” stamp. A person of standing would not do if they didn’t have a stamp. So, like many others, we asked the nice lady in the pharmacy to sign and stamp our forms. “I’m used to it,” she said kindly. As she dispenses all our pills and potions, she could sign with confidence.

Then, I started to fill in the online order form for the bits and pieces we get from the local farmers’ cooperative. I was foiled by a jam described as gégéride-orange. I hadn’t a clue what gégéride was. I turned to my trusty friend, Google Translate and typed in “gégéride”. “Hungarian detected”, it announced, without offering a translation. After much trial and error, I discovered gégéride is another word for pasteque — watermelon.

For the past week, every time Gavin has been into the Presse to collect his newspaper or the Radio Times, he has emerged with a calendar. We now have several depicting the Tarn et Garonne — our home department — as well as our local town; the latest one contains images from the pilgrimage route to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. As my friend Ginny has done the walk, we gave that one to her. I wonder how many more they have left to give away.

I then did one of those pointless but addictive quizzes you find all over Facebook. This time it was to discover what my ideal career should have been. Something obviously went very wrong somewhere as it came up with... Bodyguard.